* Sounding too “hypey” – such as using a lot of exclamation marks and capitals. Heck, I don’t tend to use ANY exclamation marks!

(Yes, I was trying to be funny.)

* Speaking of which, limit humor in your sales copy. Why? Because if people don’t find you funny, they’ll just think “what on earth is this guy/gal on about?”

(Though luckily this article isn’t sales copy. So I can be a wannabe comedian all I like…)

Anyway, these are just some of the worst copywriting sins out there.

Make any of these in your copy, and I will have to hunt you down and give you 10 lashes on your bum for being a sinner. So if you have big boobs and squat regularly, then please feel free to sin as much as you like…

Moving on.

Thing is, there’s another copywriting sin I wanna focus on today.

Because if you make it, your copy’s gonna sound as robotic as Hayden Christensen did in the Star Wars prequels.

And you don’t want that.

So then, what is this sin I’m on about?

Well, I’ve pretty much just said it. It’s about making sure your copy doesn’t sound robotic; making sure it doesn’t sound “stiff” and “wooden”.

Instead, you need to make sure it sounds like you’re just talking to someone one-on-one.

It needs to be conversational.

And it needs to flow.

Which is why almost anyone can write sales copy.

See, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the best grammar in the world. Sure, your old English teacher might not be impressed. But who cares? You’re not writing a school essay… You’re writing sales copy.

So whilst your English teacher might not like you using the word “And” at the start of a sentence…

Or using three-word sentences…

Or writing one-sentence paragraphs…

Your prospects will. Because it’s more conversational.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “Tom, that’s all well and good you saying this, but how do I really know whether or not my copy sounds like a conversation?”

Honestly, it’s dead-easy.

All you do is this:

When you’ve finished writing your copy, read it aloud to yourself.

Yep, that’s all.

Like I say, easy.

When you do this, you’ll be able to tell if something doesn’t quite sound right – or if it doesn’t flow well – because you’ll stumble a bit when reading it.

So when you do stumble, you know you’ve gotta change something.

And likewise, if you read through your whole copy and it flows perfectly, then you’re good to go.

Then, when you’ve done this, walk away from your copy for a couple of days.

Seriously. Do it.

How come?

Because when you come back to it a couple of days later, you won’t be as emotionally attached to it. I mean, as soon as you’ve finished writing something, you think it’s the best thing ever. And you tend to be a bit bias when judging it.

Though after a couple of days, it’s much easier to spot any flaws.

Anyway, if you’re then still happy with the flow of everything, you can be pretty sure it sounds good.

But there’s still one more thing I suggest you do…

Get someone else to read it to you.

See, it’s all well and good you being able to read it without it sounding robotic…

But if it doesn’t flow when someone else reads it, then it probably won’t flow when your prospects read it either.

Then, once you’ve done all this, you can be pretty sure your copy sounds on the mark… And that it doesn’t sound as robotic as Hayden Christensen in Star Wars.

Thank fuck for that.

Tom Andrews

PS – Of course, the actual content of your copy is the most important thing.

It doesn’t matter how “slick” you sound if you don’t show people the benefits they will get from buying your product.

And you’ve got to appeal to them on both an emotional level and a logical level, before they buy.

But as long as you’ve got this part nailed, then making sure your copy has a great flow to it should see you get more sales.